The Canadian Field-Naturalist. 



[Vol. XXXV. 



to find among the crabs brought in during 

 August from the h)bster traps that were 

 being fished in about five fathoms of 

 water near the Station, two fine living spe- 

 cimens of the Jonah crab. These were 

 easily kept for some time in an aquarium 

 in the laboratory. Both were abnormal 

 in having dark markings on the carapace, 

 the black colour being like that of a metal- 

 lic sulphide. The mud of the beach exhi- 

 bits this colour where decomposition of 



much organic matters is 



going on. 



When 



one of the crabs was opened part of the 

 digestive gland on the right side W'as 

 found to be much altered, some of the tub- 



more appropriate one, as it describes the 

 unusual shape of the jaws that makes the 

 mouth open dorsally. In 1910 when col- 

 lecting at low tide on certain muddy flats 

 near the mouth of the Magagaadavic river 

 on the east side of the bay, holes an incli 

 or more in diameter were noticed in the 

 mud. Digging yielded no quarr\' from 

 these retreats, but while we were tramping 

 about in the mud a wrymouth suddenly ap- 

 peared. Similar action at another set of 

 holes yielded the same result. On June 21, 

 1920,. while at the IMagaguadavic river to 

 study the success of the smelt spawning, 

 the flats were visited at low tide, and four 



<^' 



.W I '. 



J' 





;-\# ': ^ ^./' 

 -J . .// ' .' ' , , ' " . 



.. , U- .'. ^ -. ' -J 



.:.-.-.. -.AW..: ). 

 . .. ..;:;-*>:'. , /{ -n ' 



M 

 ^ 



Fig. 2. The system of burrows of a wrymouth. From a sketch (A.G.H.). 



ules being black and hardened, and of a 

 horny consistenc3^ It would seem that 

 such individuals of the Jonah crab as come 

 so far into the estuary as the St. Croix 

 river are affected unfavorably, become 

 diseased and die; also that they keep to 

 deep water rather than entering the inter- 

 tidal zone. 



Cryptacamthodes maculatus, Storer. 



Advantage was taken of an opportunity 

 for making observations on this curious 

 and little known fish, that has been given 

 in English the names of Wrymouth and 

 Ghostfish. The former name seems the 



wrymouth secured, all more than 40 cm. 

 long, that is, nearly full grown. 



The burrows in which tlie fishes were 

 living Avere found in very soft mud from 

 the lower part of the Fucus zone down- 

 ward, that is as far up as four feet above 

 low water mark. Those at the highest level 

 were in shallow tide-pools and the others 

 in such flat situations as prevented them 

 from ever being drained of water. Each 

 system of burrows, inhabited by only one 

 fish, consisted of branching tunnels about 

 5 cm. in diameter, and from 3 to 8 cm. 

 below the surface. These tunnels to a cer- 

 tain extent radiated from a somewhat cen- 



